One 18x8 door vs two 9x9 doors?

[bighitbiker3]

Hey y'all, long time lurker first time poster! Here are some stats on my build:

• 26' wide X 36' deep
• Shed style roof banking to the right. Right side of building has a 10ft top plate, left side has a 14ft

I am going with this building shape to keep consistent with the rest of the home's look (lower, modern roof line), and still allow me to put a 4 post lift in the left side of the garage. What I am between right now is whether or not I should do an 18'x8' single door, or two 9'x9' doors.

I really like the simplicity and functionality of a single door, however the right side of the building has a 10ft top plate. This means that the highest I can tuck the door to the ceiling is right around 9.5'. This will require me to most likely put the lift ~6ft from the back of the garage.

If I do two 9'x9' doors I remove the ability to get pull a boat or something in due to the separator between the doors, (I don't have one, but I like the option I guess? Always love options!) but I am able to tuck the left door up to the ceiling and get it completely out of the way for the lift. I can put the lift right at the rear and open up another 6ft in front of it.

What are y'alls opinions? Am I thinking about this right? Is there a way to cockeye the 18x8 to have it hug the left side of the garage when it goes up? With the 18x8' I worry that with having to move the lift 6 ft away from the door, that space will be pretty much useless and lost.

 

[u2slow]

9x9' was a custom-size door for me, which costs about double what the standard sizes do. YMMV.

 

[tarmy]

One big door…no way I want narrow(er) access.

 

[sponserv]

I just went through this decision tree, For various reasons (architectural, HOA restrictions, etc.) I ended up going with an 8x18 door and it was a great move as far as accessibility goes. So glad we "had to" go with this door.

 

[bighitbiker3]

9x9' was a custom-size door for me, which costs about double what the standard sizes do. YMMV.

I’m able to get then for about the same price as my 18x8 door

 

[charbar]

One big one, no doubt.

 

[Sawlog]

I just built a 26x44 with a 18x10 on the gable end. My garage I moved out of had two 9x7 on the gable end.
I love one big door vs two smaller.

 

[kbeefy]

My last shop had two narrow doors, I hated it. Now I have a 12' wide and it's better, but I miss the 18' wide doors of my commercial shop.

Having said that, an 18x8' door wouldn't be tall enough for half the stuff I try putting in my shop anyways.

 

[ducatithunder]

9x18' ... I built a custom barn door. 28x46' Garage/Shop. Door opens to the inside. Gives me different approach angles to 2 lifts and parking. Wouldnt have done it any other way after dealing with 2 smaller doors on the house.

 

[BillK]

I prefer the wide one and thats what I have on both my attached and detached garages. That way you can pull a vehicle right in the center if you want. I do that quite often during the summer to clean and wax our vehicles. I would go crazy with 2 separate doors.

 

[bighitbiker3]

So the consensus seems to be to go with the big door. I'm still definitely concerned about the lift having to be pushed forward, but having the wide space to pull in sounds very nice.

 

[Poolshark314]

Are you planning to get a door opener? If so, may want to consider what the maximum weight and dimensions of the door it can lift.

 

[like2wheel]

I've got 2 9x9's, don't regret it at all.
Nice to be able to open only one & not have the whole building letting all the heat out or yawning for everyone to see everything inside.
Dont have a problem backing anything I own in. Not a boat guy tho.

Looks better for my situation too, wife had some unput

 

[jmiller_2308]

I second @like2wheel comments. For aesthetic reasons I like the look of the 2 9x9 doors. Whether it be for climate control or limiting snoopy passersby I also like the ability to limit how much of the shop I expose to the world when the door(s) are open. I have 8x9 doors on the drive in garage and being separate doors keeps the wife "in her lane" when she parks in that garage. I believe double doors also provides an easier and natural way to maintain space between the lanes in the garage. My buddy has a shop and a parking garage that each have 18' wide doors and amazingly neither he nor his wife can manage to park more than one vehicle in those double wide spaces - total waste!

That said, I do have a 9x18 on the shop and the extra width is indeed very useful when maneuvering things in and out. How big are the vehicles you expect to drive in? My RAM 1500 with tow mirrors is a tight squeeze through the single door. If you have something similar or bigger than the 18' would probably keep you more sane.

I hope you can go 9' height independent of whether you use a single or double door. The 9' height on my shop door just barely allowed me to get the pre-assemebled lift into the shop; it wouldn't have fit through a 8' high door. A boat on a trailer can be pretty tall and again a 9' height might be needed.

 

[jack stand]

So the consensus seems to be to go with the big door. I'm still definitely concerned about the lift having to be pushed forward, but having the wide space to pull in sounds very nice.

What's more important to you.
Personally I'd rather have 2 doors, that helps delineate the 2 bay's and if you can't drive thru 9' you need to get better at driving.
Sounds like you'd be giving up door clearance and creating a fair amount of floor space that is useless. You will also have essentially waisted your costs for the 10' wall height.
Welcome to GJ and if you're heating the shop, opening up a 18x8 hole in the wintertime to get out a vehicle or a garden tractor.... just my thinking.

 

[vavet]

For my detached garage/shop, I did a 18x8. It's fine. No big concerns either way. For the attached garage where we both park our DDs, we have a 16x8. At a minimum, I wish we'd have done an 18x8, but I think two 9x8s or 9x9s would have been even better. We both drive smallish cars and it works fine, but I'm eyeing some of the midsize trucks or maybe a Ford F150 Lightning. The midsizers will probably be fine, but it'll be much tighter next to her car than my current ride. The F150 will be parked outside if I go that route. If we'd done two 9x9s, there would have to be more space between the cars, making that a much more attractive option.

If you ever anticipate backing a trailer into your garage, then one larger one is desirable, unless you're a much better backer-upper than I am.

 

[LOW1]

One big door = one less thing for The General to run into.

 

[CraigStu]

9 wide is better than 8 wide but 18 wide is better than either. I would be thinking about why you feel that the lift needs to be pushed forward. I just did a quick look and all the 4 posts I looked at the posts were <9ft tall. So the posts are not the problem. Certainly being able to lift a tall vehicle while the door is open could be a problem but I would think about how often you would be doing that. And would it be so bad to have to close the door on those occasions. OR, be sure to get a lift that has the ability to roll and don't worry about height vs door at all. Move it forward if you need to for a particular job. We don't know where you live (hint put that in you profile so it shows up to us) but here in southern Va it is fairly rare that I have the garage door open when I am working. Oct through April it is too cold. June-August it is too hot w/ the sun beating in the open doorway, Sept.-Oct too many leaves get blown in. You mention a boat, and I have a 5.5-10 utility trailer, and my 16ft door is SO much more useful than my previous double 8 footers there was no question when we had this house built.

 

[jstroede]

IMO 10' wide doors are the best, but if I had to pick between the two I would take the 9' doors. I prefer smaller doors over larger ones, and they will last longer.

John

 

[jpaw]

My vote is for the big one.
Personally I wouldn't have a door narrower the 10ft if I had a choice. I think that you could squeeze 10ft doors in there but it may look funny without much space between them.
If you can put the man door or a window in the back you will get a nice cross breeze with it open.

 

[bighitbiker3]

What's more important to you.
Personally I'd rather have 2 doors, that helps delineate the 2 bay's and if you can't drive thru 9' you need to get better at driving.
Sounds like you'd be giving up door clearance and creating a fair amount of floor space that is useless. You will also have essentially waisted your costs for the 10' wall height.
Welcome to GJ and if you're heating the shop, opening up a 18x8 hole in the wintertime to get out a vehicle or a garden tractor.... just my thinking.

I'm in Dallas so am more concerned about the air conditioning in the summer, but same deal. Maybe that's wishful thinking. 9' is plenty wide for me to drive through, it's just if I end up wanting to back a trailer up or something. Which I have no plans to, but I like keeping my options open (which makes my brain and wallet go crazy)

9 wide is better than 8 wide but 18 wide is better than either. I would be thinking about why you feel that the lift needs to be pushed forward. I just did a quick look and all the 4 posts I looked at the posts were <9ft tall. So the posts are not the problem. Certainly being able to lift a tall vehicle while the door is open could be a problem but I would think about how often you would be doing that. And would it be so bad to have to close the door on those occasions. OR, be sure to get a lift that has the ability to roll and don't worry about height vs door at all. Move it forward if you need to for a particular job. We don't know where you live (hint put that in you profile so it shows up to us) but here in southern Va it is fairly rare that I have the garage door open when I am working. Oct through April it is too cold. June-August it is too hot w/ the sun beating in the open doorway, Sept.-Oct too many leaves get blown in. You mention a boat, and I have a 5.5-10 utility trailer, and my 16ft door is SO much more useful than my previous double 8 footers there was no question when we had this house built.

It's not the posts, it'd be the car on the posts. Not right now, but eventually I'd like to be able to fit a small SUV under the lift and another car on top. This would require most of the 13-14' clearance on that side of the garage. For now the SUV will be in the right bay. How easy are the lifts to roll? I've seen the ones with casters, but I never thought I'd be able to move them at will. Figured it'd be a process to make them moveable when I want to move them. I'm in Dallas so Spring and Fall I could work with the door open. Re: the boat, I have no plans on getting one but I like options which is my problem I think

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I agree with John. My 2016 build uses 3 9-foot wide doors. I should have built a little wider and gone with 3 10-foot wide doors.

As someone else mentioned, a fullsize pickup's mirrors are over 8-feet wide tip-to-tip. It's doable with a 9-foot wide door with a few inches to spare on each side...but if you pull in and out a couple of times a day, chances are you will eventually drag your mirror on the door frame.

10 feet wide would be better. I do like the LOOK of single wide doors vs a wide one. Personal preference.

 

[racecougar]

It's not the posts, it'd be the car on the posts. Not right now, but eventually I'd like to be able to fit a small SUV under the lift and another car on top. This would require most of the 13-14' clearance on that side of the garage. For now the SUV will be in the right bay. How easy are the lifts to roll? I've seen the ones with casters, but I never thought I'd be able to move them at will. Figured it'd be a process to make them moveable when I want to move them. I'm in Dallas so Spring and Fall I could work with the door open. Re: the boat, I have no plans on getting one but I like options which is my problem I think

Bingo. I think many are missing the issue here. If you go with the 18' wide door, you're going to have to put the lift much deeper into the building in order to be able to open the garage door with a vehicle on the lift. In any other situation, I'd absolutely recommend a 18' over two 9' doors, but you're pretty well stuck due to the roofline of your building.

 

[jack stand]

I'm in Dallas so am more concerned about the air conditioning in the summer, but same deal. Maybe that's wishful thinking. 9' is plenty wide for me to drive through, it's just if I end up wanting to back a trailer up or something. Which I have no plans to, but I like keeping my options open (which makes my brain and wallet go crazy)



It's not the posts, it'd be the car on the posts. Not right now, but eventually I'd like to be able to fit a small SUV under the lift and another car on top. This would require most of the 13-14' clearance on that side of the garage. For now the SUV will be in the right bay. How easy are the lifts to roll? I've seen the ones with casters, but I never thought I'd be able to move them at will. Figured it'd be a process to make them moveable when I want to move them. I'm in Dallas so Spring and Fall I could work with the door open. Re: the boat, I have no plans on getting one but I like options which is my problem I think

Part of my 2 smaller door comment was aligned with a more working type shop rather than a normal parking garage.
For the less disciplined person like myself, I find that a "project" bay and the related creep is easier to control by the "bay" and (to me) the door delineates the bay, leaving the other for parking.
You'll drive yourself nuts planning for any and all contingencies for future use like a boat or trailer. I've planned 3 different shops and seriously believe it's impossible to predict what you might want in the future.
If you just want to park vehicles, a single 18' door might be the best.

 

[duneslider]

I have an 18' x 9' door and 10'x9' door on my garage. I wouldn't want to have a 9'x9', that would not be fun to pull in and out of on the regular.

I LOVE the height of the 9' doors. I do not regret at all going with 9' doors. 9' is plenty tall for me but if I was a boat person I would have considered a taller door on my smaller side.

 

[bighitbiker3]

Bingo. I think many are missing the issue here. If you go with the 18' wide door, you're going to have to put the lift much deeper into the building in order to be able to open the garage door with a vehicle on the lift. In any other situation, I'd absolutely recommend a 18' over two 9' doors, but you're pretty well stuck due to the roofline of your building.

Yup this is is conundrum. I think I need to sit down and really do some math to see exactly where lift would go and how much space I'll be losing. I did some drawings on graph paper, but they could be more detailed.

Part of my 2 smaller door comment was aligned with a more working type shop rather than a normal parking garage.
For the less disciplined person like myself, I find that a "project" bay and the related creep is easier to control by the "bay" and (to me) the door delineates the bay, leaving the other for parking.
You'll drive yourself nuts planning for any and all contingencies for future use like a boat or trailer. I've planned 3 different shops and seriously believe it's impossible to predict what you might want in the future.
If you just want to park vehicles, a single 18' door might be the best.

I like this approach, but unfortunately it's going to be both. I'll have the project car on top of the lift with my DD below it. Wife's DD will be on the other side with the shorter ceiling.

 

[Sumboodie]

I just went through this decision tree, For various reasons (architectural, HOA restrictions, etc.) I ended up going with an 8x18 door and it was a great move as far as accessibility goes. So glad we "had to" go with this door.

Odd size. Why so tall and narrow?

 

[Bucko]

If I had to choose I would go one big door. The thing I hate about single doors is when you want to back your truck partially in and unload something. Many other reasons I prefer a double but that one sticks out.

Since you are building from scratch can you go a bit wider and put a man door in. It could give you more space to the side and not be adding as much width as another garage door would and also stretch the roofline a bit and maybe give you the room you need for the lift. Its nice to not have to open the garage doors every time you want to go outside.

 

[kbs2244]

Look into an alternative door design

One where the door goes to the outside when open

Or slides horizontally around the corner against the walls

Do some research

That will open up your vertical space

 

[bighitbiker3]

If I had to choose I would go one big door. The thing I hate about single doors is when you want to back your truck partially in and unload something. Many other reasons I prefer a double but that one sticks out.

Since you are building from scratch can you go a bit wider and put a man door in. It could give you more space to the side and not be adding as much width as another garage door would and also stretch the roofline a bit and maybe give you the room you need for the lift. Its nice to not have to open the garage doors every time you want to go outside.

The man door is going to be on the right side along with two windows as it faces my yard. Unfortunately I can't go an inch bigger. This build has increased from 24x24 and any bigger it's going to take over my house .

Look into an alternative door design

One where the door goes to the outside when open

Or slides horizontally around the corner against the walls

Do some research

That will open up your vertical space

Would you mind pointing me in a direction? I've seen hanger doors which look amazing, but trying to find a consumer model that isn't insanely expensive about a month ago failed me .

 

[svhamelly]

I just went through this too and opted for the 18 foot door. Unfortunately I can't tell you how I like it as my door has still not been delivered.
Clopay said 12 weeks leadtime... upon clicking the order button it immediately went to 14 weeks... its been 20 weeks and no door in sight yet
Just saying you should plan for very long lead time for any special order garage doors. In fact, order your door before you even break ground on your garage build.

 

[racecougar]

I just went through this too and opted for the 18 foot door. Unfortunately I can't tell you how I like it as my door has still not been delivered.
Clopay said 12 weeks leadtime... upon clicking the order button it immediately went to 14 weeks... its been 20 weeks and no door in sight yet
Just saying you should plan for very long lead time for any special order garage doors. In fact, order your door before you even break ground on your garage build.

How far forward are you setting your lift to provide clearance? Same ceiling profile as the OP?

 

[svhamelly]

How far forward are you setting your lift to provide clearance? Same ceiling profile as the OP?

Sorry didn't mean to mislead you... no lift in my garage. 8 foot ceilings, the QuickJack will be my solution.
My garage primary purpose is parking cars and the occasional wrenching and woodworking project.

 

[m6z]

I had 9' doors in a previous garage and backing in a full size truck was a bit of a pain.

I prefer the one large door or one large door + another narrow door if you've got the room.

 

[firebirdparts]

I'm a 2 door guy all the way. I don't see how you can get adequate space between vehicles without that. But it's not up to me, it's your garage.

 

[sponserv]

Wow ducatitthunder!!!! That shop is gorgeous!!! Great job. Its always cool to see a residential shop built that looks like it belongs in Architectural Digest.

 

[Skooterj]

Why wouldn't you be able to pull a boat through a 9 foot wide door? I would do the 2 doors and get a high lift kit for the door near the taller roof. Less door protruding along your ceiling, more room to put your lift.

 

[ycgoat]

at my house I went with a 16'x9' "Commercial Door", that I only have 1 vehicle and all kinds of other crao around it. The shop I just built I went with 10'x10' doors. IMHO, I need a door for every vehicle being parked inside, then each door is as big as I can get within my space and budget.